Co-working: a community well-being analysis by Clear Village

Artworks Elephant mural by Ibiye Camp

CO-WORKING A COMMUNITY WELL-BEING REPORT PREPARED FOR MERCATO METROPOLITANO

CONTENTS Introduction

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Context

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Methodology & summary of findings

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Why co-working?

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Mercato Metropolitano & co-working

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Conclusion Appendix

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INTRODUCTION Two of Mercato Metropolitano’s key objectives are to get involved with local community groups and to provide affordable workspace and social space for the emerging entrepreneurial community. The following report offers evidence-based research to help MM utilise one of its key place assets to achieve these objectives. At Clear Village, we believe that place assets—underused spaces—are best activated when the wellbeing of the wider community is kept in mind, which has been a shared focus in our previous work with the Peabody Trust.

In May of 2016, the 24-year-old Ibiye Camp unveiled the mural seen on the cover of this report. It depicts inspirational British figures who lived and worked in or near Elephant & Castle. These are social pioneers who made an impact on their communities, the city and the world. Their successes come from living in a neighbourhood that provides affordability and accessibility at the local scale. With so many new developments in the area, how can we continue to foster successful stories such as those depicted on Camp’s mural?

As this report will demonstrate, with strategic use of a co-working space—especially for food-based start-ups—Mercato Metropolitano can play a key role in the social development of Elephant & Castle. What is seemingly a small initiative can, in fact, lead to a triple bottom line for this community, meaning that small really is beautiful.

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“I have seen first-hand how co-working space for social enterprise offers career development to young people and positive engagement in healthy activities for the wider community. At two of our housing estates, the Small Works model of co-working has attracted some of the most exciting small businesses, including some with a focus on innovation in the food and beverage sector.”

—Martin O’Donnell, Community Development Manager - Peabody Community Foundation

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CONTEXT Elephant & Castle is at the confluence of six diverse wards across two Boroughs of London. The wards of Cathedrals, Bishop’s, Prince’s, Newington, East Walworth & Chaucer represent ethnically diverse communities with an average of 46% identifying as BAME and 43% who were not born inside the UK1. The average employment rate across these wards is 64%. Cathedrals alone has near 66,000 jobs in the area and an average of 65% migrant worker registrations since 2012. This makes E&C a dynamic hub for social, cultural and economic exchange.

Despite this dynamism, according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation, E&C is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England, the 20% most deprived of employment, and worst of all, it is among the 10% most deprived of a healthy living environment2. This indicates that those who live in and around E&C are having to search further afield for work and must spend a longer time commuting to find employment.

If this trend continues, the area could become starved of local spending on food and leisure. Equally concerning is that wards East Walworth and Newington show that 20% of the population retains no qualifications, while just 35% retain a higher education of college and/or university level.

The Southwark Sustainable Communities Strategy’s key objectives are to improve individual life chances by “promoting the talents and aspirations within the community”3.

Their strategy also seeks to narrow the gap in London’s employment rate by enhancing skills training in schools and through forming local employer linkages with young people entering the work force. Most relevant to this study is Southwark’s strategic priority to support well-managed business spaces that help start-ups to grow locally4.

Given the context, our team conducted its surveys keeping in mind the potentials of co-working in E&C and how such a venture can make an impact.

FOOTNOTES 1 Greater London Authority, 2011. London Data Store - Ward Profiles. Available from: http://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/instant-atlas/ward-profiles-html/atlas.htm 2 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2015. Indices of Deprivation. Available from: http://dclgapps.communities.gov.uk/imd/idmap.html 3 Southwark Alliance, 2016. Sustainable Community Strategy. Available from: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/309/southwark_2016 4 Southwark Council, 2012. Economic Wellbeing Strategy 2012-2020. Available from: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/3275/economic_wellbeing_strategy

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METHODOLOGY & SUMMARY OF FINDINGS The proceeding findings are an abbreviation of what we at Clear Village call a ‘WellBeing Analysis’. This lighter report simply obtains the pulse of the area surrounding Mercato Metropolitano. It attempts to offer some insight into the social and economic climate of the area.

Given that the qualitative realities of any place are difficult to measure, our approach is designed to understand the lived conditions as best as possible. Using a baseline of information about a given area—those presented in the ‘Context’ page of this report— we combine that data with face-to-face interviews and surveys. The following offers a summary of this information as it compares to the London Wards Well-Being Scores for Southwark.

For our research we selected three locations as our sample study. In each of these sites we conducted short interviews with residents. The locations were: Newington Gardens Park Peabody Marshalsea Estate Mint Street Park

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At each location we asked residents a set of questions, below is a summary of their answers.

1. What do you like about the area?

+ elephant and castle is calm

+ quiet especially on weekends

+ is central and well connected

+ play areas for kids 2. What do you think are the main problems in the area?

+ not enough affordable housing

+ drug exchange/ antisocial behaviour

+ no local functions for young people + crime + poverty 3. What does the area need?

+ youth recreation

+ environmental care

+ support for locally run businesses

+ affordable housing and community spaces

+ keeping people informed of what’s going on in the area

+ Tenants Association in estates

+ an investment in community activities Southwark among 32 London boroughs: (1=high, 32=low)

How the 21 Southwark wards compare across all London wards:

Subjective well-being 22/32 Life satisfaction 20/32 Life worthwhile 14/32 Happiness 6/32 Anxiety

Education 6/21 are in bottom 25% of all wards; Chaucer and Cathedrals score the lowest

“I used to work on East Street Market so I’d talk to people you know. I had a lot of African customers who are parents worrying about their children.

They send em’ to school and then the kids skip classes; young people are depressed because they have nothing to do.”

—Lady in the Park, Newington Gardens Park

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“more could be made of the good things here. The community doesn’t reach its full potential, there isn’t enough money or space for it” —Man with dog, Peabody Marshalsea Estate

Childhood obesity 17/21 are in the bottom 25%, East Walworth, Chaucer and Cathedrals score the lowest

Overall well-being 10/21 wards score significantly lower than London average 5

FOOTNOTES 5 Greater London Authority, 2013. London Data Store – London Ward Well-Being Scores. Available from: http://data.london.gov.uk/london-ward-well-being-scores/

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS CONTINUED Our research also focused on seeking out the social enterprises and/or charitable non-profits which serve the wider area. In every well-being analysis, we consider the role of these actors as essential to the stimulation of healthy communities. However, we also recognise the challenges faced by third sector groups whose access to space and facilities for their services are dependent on grants and individual funders.

If this is the current landscape available to third sector groups, it is no surprise there are dozens of co-working spaces on the market in London. Our own survey of these spaces showed that, while rental rates are competitive, many are too costly for small start-ups and charities.

To name just some of the organisations out of many active in and around Elephant & Castle, here is a list of who would benefit from an affordable co-working environment located at Mercato Metropolitano:

Organisation/Group

Role

Website

The Cycling Veg

TheCyclingVeg is the first Start-Up in London to deliver organic, seasonal and locally produced fruit & vegetables by bicycle to your doorstep.

thecyclingveg.co.uk

Farmdrop

Their online shop helps growers and producers reach more customers, enabling everyone to access local seasonal food directly from the people growing, catching, rearing, baking and making it.

farmdrop.co.uk

Latin Elephant

Promoting alternative and innovative ways of engaging migrant and ethnic groups in urban regeneration - well connected to Latin cafes and restaurants in E&C.

latinelephant.org

Pecan Foodbank

Pecan offers space for workshops in career development as well as its own chain of Foodbanks local to E&C.

pecan.org.uk

The Burgess Park Food Project

This is a volunteer led community garden in burgessparkfoodproject.org.uk Burgess Park. It’s a new but growing organisation of local people keen to grow food sustainably.

Toucan Employment

Delivering employment opportunities to people with a learning disability.

Cooltan Arts

This arts centre on Walworth Road delivers a cooltanarts.org.uk range of creative workshops; working with people with mental health issues in Southwark.

LinkAge Southwark

They deliver a range of services through volunteers for over 60s.

linkagesouthwark.org

Carnaval del Pueblo

Producers of the big Latin-American carnaval in Burgess Park.

carnavaldelpueblo.com

New Elephant Open Network

This charity/voluntary art group brings local communities and artists together to generate greater community cohesion through the arts.

newelephantopennetwork.wordpress.com

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toucanemployment.org

WHY CO-WORKING?

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“In the UK alone, there are 70,000 social enterprises, contributing £18.5 billion to the UK economy and employing almost a million people” —Buy Social

Co-working and great food We know that Mercato Metropolitano is a celebration of Italian culture, which equally is a celebration of integrating different people together to appreciate diversity, and of course, good food. The list of organisations on the previous page is not exhaustive, it is simply meant to illustrate the potentials of socially minded co-working in Elephant & Castle. When it comes to social enterprise in food and beverage, we have worked with Grub Club, a curated online listing of affordable restaurant experiences, and we continue to host Well Grounded, a free training programme for youth to become professional Baristas.

Serving the most with just a little From the data provided in this report, it is clear that E&C is an important ‘place asset’ to many different ethnic communities. It isn’t easy to serve all of these communities, but by providing space for the many organisations and entrepreneurs within these communities, the odds of success are good. Not to mention, the potential to make a real impact on the unsettling indicators of deprivation outlined earlier in this report.

+ WITH SPACE & RESOURCES SOCIAL ENTERPRISES CAN DELIVER A TRIPLE BOTTOM-LINE

Co-working spaces rooted in a local context can: Reduce social isolation Improve health & well-being Upgrade skills and create employment Foster personal development Provide networking opportunities

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MERCATO METROPOLITANO & CO-WORKING Mercato can deliver social impact through a model that includes socialising, web activity, food production, entertainment and education. Peabody’s own mission is to “get as many people as possible into employment as a key route out of poverty” and to help “communities become engaged, active and resilient”. How can a co-working space help the partners achieve these aims together?

Clear Village focuses on the idea of the commons which are underused spaces turned into ‘place assets’. These place assets are open to everyone and are generators of knowledge and income. One possible model we can share is that of our Small Works spaces. The diagram below, is a simple illustration to describe how to organise co-working for maximum social impact: Small Works brings the benefits of social enterprise to housing estates and empty spaces in London.

Our approach is based on a model of reciprocity in which landlords, social enterprises and local residents all win.

During 2015-16 we managed two spaces in partnership with Peabody: Small Works Victoria on Vauxhall Estate in Westminster and Small Works Kings Cross on Priory Green Estate, Islington.

Small Works spaces are occupied on a daily basis by our Members: social/local entrepreneurs who rent desk space for a rate substantially lower than the market price in central London. In exchange for the below-market rent our Members contribute to the community through a ‘give-back scheme’.

Small Works facilitates these interactions between social enterprises and local residents bringing forth new opportunities for personal development and community interaction.

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GIVE BACKS: This offers organisations the chance to test their services with residents and hear immediate feedback. One example is Project Soup: a one-off event where guests enter by donation and recieve a bowl of soup and 1 vote. 4 local groups pitch their ideas for a community activity. Each presenter has 4 minutes to pitch. All vote for 1 winner who takes home the door sales to put toward their activity.

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SMALL WORKS NETWORK: With three existing Small Works venues, there is a strong interest among our members to connect with each other to form new partnerships. A Small Works space in E&C would bring these organisations to the community and further contribute to a vibrant creative exchange.

WE HAVE REACHED 368 PEOPLE WITH MORE THAN 1300 HOURS OF SERVICES 9

CONCLUSION Mercato Metropolitano is well positioned to be a leader in the community because of the the spaces it provides. By opening up a co-working space such as the model that Small Works offers, MM can leverage the social missions of multiple existing organisations to strengthen the economy and create community resilience. Below is an illustration of how our co-working model can meet these values.

Some of the benefits we have seen with Small Works thus far include: members investing more funds back into their businesses and hiring additional staff, members finding support from Small Works staff to be a notable advantage to their membership, and that Small Works staff have been integral in outreach assistance and introducing networking opportunities with Peabody. These are just some of the advantages to our model of co-working.

We recognise the powerful impact of local and ethical food production which Mercato Metropolitano advocates. This report aims to connect this impact to the realities of Elephant & Castle, a place with a history of producing social pioneers, that today is undergoing a difficult transition. “Small is beautiful” and “natural is good”, are important values and with the right objectives this transition can be turned into a remarkable transformation.

Mercato Metropolitano’s Values

Small Works Objectives

Sustainability

Self-sustaining reciprocity model

Engagement

Direct participation among local community

Consistency

Permanent space for local actors

Urban Renewal

New creative business and services for the area

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“Mint street sessions are important - some kids don’t eat dinner, so this is a chance for them to be fed and to socialise in a safe environment” —Mint Street Community Worker, Mint Street Park

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“there needs to be more small local independent businesses, like cafes and restaurants” —Woman with baby, Newington Gardens Park

We’re happy to discuss the findings of this report in more detail. We can also explore the potentials of a coworking space that is tailored to the needs of Mercato Metropolitano. Our reciprocity model is just the beginning, we imagine there are many expanded versions of this approach which can serve the complexities of Elephant & Castle and SoBo. Contact: Dan Daley, Project Manager dan@clear-village.org +44 (0) 793 403 7619

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APPENDIX These are the exciting organisations currently operating out of two of our three locations. This provides a sense of who Small Works spaces attract and how they compliment the neighbourhoods they are within.

SMALL WORKS VICTORIA Peabody Vauxhall Estate, Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1TA

Organisation

Short description

Website

Acknowledging Youths

Acknowledging Youths CIC is a “youth-led organisation” focused on delivering highquality training courses for employment

acknowledgingyouths.org

CLAY

Educates and supports young people affected by cyber bullying

claymedia.org

Museum of Homelessness

A new kind of museum that makes the invisible, visible through the presentation of stories, objects and art by people of all backgrounds

museumofhomelessness.org

JR Morgan Ltd

Accounting for non-profits and charities

This One Family Matters

Empowering clients so that they are able to fearlessly respond to proceedings which involve the State or private individuals

familymatters.uk.com

Peer Power

A social justice charity rooted in the promotion of empathy among children and youth affected by abuse and various adolescent traumas

peerpower.org.uk

SMALL WORKS KINGS CROSS The Old Laundry Building, Priory Green Estate, London N1 9DG

Organisation

Short description

Website

The Orchard Project

Chairty dedicated solely to the creation, restoration and celebration of community orchards

theorchardproject.org.uk

Project Dirt

Using social media to connect, promote and resource passionate people and their projects to a wider dynamic community

projectdirt.com

Well Grounded

Matches speciality coffee shops with budding, trained and highly skilled Baristas

wellgroundedjobs.co.uk

Sunday Assembly

A non-religious congregation which celebrates life

sundayassembly.com

Responsible 100

Helps businesses to integrate stakeholders’ responsible100.com views to make tough, honest decisions – and balance profitability with the interests of people and planet 11

CLEAR VILLAGE Small Works Victoria Block A Vauxhall Peabody Estate Vauxhall Bridge Road London, UK SW1V 1TA +44 (0) 20 3633 3296 clear-village.org Clear Village Charitable Trust Registered Charity #1142779

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